You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too lateRalph Waldo Emerson

InspirEmail

InspirEmail No 318 - September 2017 - A Dream is Not EnoughInspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost
the emotional bank account'

A Dream is Not Enough

Every once in a while I run into people who say,
'Well, I just have a dream.' Having a dream and fulfilling a dream are two
different things. Let me tell you something else - if your dream does not match
your abilities, it'll be a nightmare. I see people all the time who have
unrealistic dreams.

Please understand that I'm not trying to dash your
hopes or suggest that you listen to naysayers who try to dissuade you from doing
what seems impossible when you know deep down in your heart that you can do it.
I'm merely giving you a reality check because if you don't have the aptitude or
the skill level to do it, you're going to have some real frustrations and
you're going to have to change your mindset.

For example, I love music and I'd like to be a
great singer; but there's a problem - some would say that it's minor, but I
think it's major - I can't sing. Isn't it awful when you can hear music one way
in your head, but when you open your mouth it doesn't come out right?
Fortunately for other people, I know I can't sing, so I don't torture them with
my caterwauling. I've been places where there was a person singing who didn't
know they couldn't sing. I don't know about you, but I wanted to look at the
people around me and say, 'You know, somebody ought to go up there and tell
them.'

Here's the problem: if I can't sing, but my dream
is to be a great opera singer, I will either be very frustrated or I will
torture audiences everywhere who don't have the heart to tell me to give it up.
Can I tell you something? It isn't going to happen. Not because I lack desire
or lack the dream. It isn't going to happen because I'm not any good in that
area - I simply lack the ability.

Too many times, people work on their weaknesses.
Don't work on your weaknesses. On a scale from one to a ten, if you're a two at
something, don't spend a lot of time trying to improve in that area. If you
work on it hard, you'll probably only become about a four. In other words, if I
take music lessons, voice lessons, and bring all kinds of people around me to
help me sing, after two or three years, I will have spent a lot of money and
worked very hard, but I'm still not going to be able to sing.

If you're a two and you go up to a four, you're a
little bit below average. I know many people trying to do average things
wanting people to stand in line and buy it. Average will never get you
anywhere. So quit working on your weaknesses because if you work on your
weaknesses, at best you're going to be average.

You have to find your strengths; you have to find
out what you're good at. If you're a six at something, you can get up to a
seven or an eight. People pay for eights. So when you ask yourself whether or
not you can do what you'd like to do, you need to be honest with yourself
before you invest a lot of time and energy into it.

By the way, when I say don't work on your
weaknesses, I'm talking about your skills and abilities. The personal
illustration I gave was my singing. There are three weaknesses you need to work
on at all times, but they have nothing to do with your skills.

The three weaknesses you have to work on are:

Attitude Issues

If you have a bad attitude, fix it because your
attitude will disqualify you. I know several people who have great potential,
but their attitude is the disqualifier of their life.

Discipline Issues

Work on your discipline issues if you're weak. If
you can't get somewhere on time, if you lack initiative, if you're lazy, you
won't make it.

Relationship Issues

You'd better work on your relationship issues
because if people don't like you, you're not going to be successful with them.
Remember that people won't go along with you if they can't get along with you.
Let me give you five quick questions to ask for yourself to determine your
abilities:

1. Do I have
experience in my desired area?2. Do I have any success in my desired area?3. Do I have any training in my desired area?4. Do I know what is essential in my desired area?5. Do I know someone who's successful in my desired
area?

I love this quote . . . 'Find something you like to
do so much that you'd gladly do it for nothing. Then learn to do it so well the
people are happy to pay you for it.'

That's the way to live. Don't worry about what you're going to get paid and
what kind of benefits there are; do something you love to do and do it so well
that after a while you'll be paid to do it. If it's something you are capable
of doing, and if you seek answers to the five questions I have given, you'll be
on your way to doing just that.

Written
by John C Maxwell
John Maxwell is an author, speaker and pastor who has written many books,
primarily on leadership, including The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and
The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader and his books have sold millions of
copies. View more at . . . John
C Maxwell >>>

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-
Inspirational Quote -

The fruits
of life fall into the hands of those who climb the tree and pick themEarl Tupper

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